Charlotte Mae Crawford

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." Charlotte Mae Crawford, 82, of Rogers, OH, went home to be with the Lord on July 19, 2021.

Charlotte was born in Alliance, OH on July 6, 1939, daughter of Homer and Alta Barnhouse.

On March 30, 1957, she married William Crawford, whom she’d known most of her life, as their families lived “up the road” from one another. The couple were spectacular at dancing the Jitterbug as youngsters and got to carry on the tradition many times throughout the years at family wedding receptions. Charlotte had known all of her life that she wanted to be a mother and was blessed with three children she adored- Melody, Brenda, and Mike. She also had the privilege of caring for her niece and nephew for many years, Jean and Rick. Charlotte was a selfless and caring mother and sacrificed anything she could to show love to her children. Ironing was part of almost every day and she even ironed blue jeans! She stayed close with all of her children as they grew up and raised children of their own, always planning family gatherings at her home and many trips for the whole extended family to St. Pete Beach, Florida. Oh, the many memories we all have from those trips! Her home was always open to everyone and her delicious Sunday dinners of roast, potatoes, carrots, and noodles warmed hearts, as well as bellies.

She loved the beach, she loved giving gifts and blessing others, and she always made each family member feel like the most special person in her life. She and her husband Bill helped to build Lake Mount Church of Christ in New Waterford, OH, and she played the piano during worship services for many years, adding on her signature flourish at the conclusion of the songs, oftentimes playfully bopping a grandchild or two on the stomach after they would run to the piano to hug her at the end of church services.

Speaking of her grandchildren, she had nine- Kristy (Sims) Chadwick, Amy (Tony) McCoy, Aaron (Cheri) Unkefer, Danielle (Josh) Menning, Brian (Jenna) Crawford, Lisa (Scott) Cannistraro, Angie (James) Laverie, Jamie (Nick) Till and Jennifer (James) Fox. No matter which of the many names she answered to- Grammie, G-ma, Grandma, etc, she was every grandchild’s biggest fan- attending countless sporting events, plays, graduations, and recitals. The grandchildren agree unanimously- G-ma’s CoCo Wheats cannot be duplicated. She cornered the market on CoCo Wheats and no one else in the entire universe could make them as perfectly as she did. Spending the night at G-ma’s meant waking up to CoCo Wheats and buttered toast to dip in them while sitting and watching cartoons with the TV tray and pretty much feeling like royalty.

As a child, Charlotte loved watching her Aunt Betty work as Head Cashier of the A & P in East Palestine, OH, and decided at a young age that being a Head Cashier would be the most fun job. Like with most things Charlotte set her mind to, she made it happen, working at Kroger and then Save-A-Lot for many years, most of those years as Head Cashier. Her work ethic was admirable and one of her favorite adages was, “If you’ve got time to lean, you’ve got time to clean.”

Charlotte was also an adored great grandmother to 20 blessed great grandchildren here on Earth and one great grandchild who preceded her in his journey to heaven. The great grandkids loved to visit Grandma Charlotte and her closet packed full of board games and coloring books. She had a talent for creating fun games out of next to nothing. No one was ever bored at her house! She even made up silly games every Christmas for the whole family to play as part of the gift opening that often ended with everyone laughing so hard we were all crying.

Charlotte’s faith in Jesus was the most important aspect of her life and she inspired many others to seek a relationship with Him in their own lives. She left this Earth surrounded by her husband and her children, of whom she was so proud. In her own words, “They’ve remained faithful and raised their kids to love the Lord, too. Praise God!” Her family is so grateful for the many memories we have with her as she joins Jesus for eternity. In all of these memories, we find a common denominator: Charlotte always made each of us feel special and loved.

She is survived by her daughters Melody (Larry) Workman of Leetonia, Brenda (Dale) Unkefer of Columbiana, and her son, Mike (Robin) Crawford of Salem; nine grandchildren, and twenty great grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her mother, Alta Barnhouse, her father Homer Barnhouse, her brother Donnie Barnhouse, her brother Bill Barnhouse, and her great grandson Levi Laverie.

Services will be held at 4:00 p.m., Friday, July 23, 2021, at Lake Mount Church of Christ with Tim Postle officiating.

Friends will be received from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 22, 2021, at the Warrick-Kummer-Rettig Funeral Home, Columbiana and for one hour prior to the funeral on Friday at the church.

Interment will take place at East Carmel Cemetery, Rogers.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to “Heartbeat of Columbiana County,” 848 Northside Ave, East Liverpool, Ohio 43920.

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